Go Get 'Em
by massapeccati
Summary: High School AU. Life-long friends Aerrow and Finn are in their final year of sixth form, and both are determined to make the most of it. However, one of their 'spur of the moment' decisions leads to a chance meeting, with one or two pleasant surprises along the way.
1. Chapter 1: Party Animal

"Hey, how 'bout this one?"

Aerrow suppressed a groan as he took a direct-to-face hit from yet another offending item of Finn's wardrobe. The long-suffering redhead slowly peeled the dark blue t-shirt - one of many - off of his face, his green eyes following the oblivious blonde with steadily growing impatience.

"So, not that one then," Aerrow sighed, dragging himself up from his sitting position on the floor before flopping down unceremoniously onto the crumpled mess that was Finn's bed. "Will you just pick _something_ please, I am _begging_ you."

At his friend's desperate plea, the other boy abruptly halted his frantic rifling, turning to look at him with an expression of pure disbelief. "This is a _party_ , dude, one of the _biggest_ parties of the year!"

"So?"

"So?!" Finn burst out, marching over to the clueless boy lounging on his bed. "It means _everyone_ will be there! E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E," he emphasised, including a sharp jab on each syllable for good measure.

Okay, he got the picture.

To avoid any further attempts on his life, Aerrow shuffled backwards, leaning against the headboard as Finn shook his head pityingly. "It's okay, I wouldn't expect you to understand true fashion," he stated with a condescending air, wandering back over to his wardrobe to continue his quest for the Perfect Outfit. "I just wish I could've taught you better," he whispered brokenly, looking his fashion-less guest up and down disdainfully.

"Whatever," Aerrow shrugged, rolling his eyes before glancing at himself in the mirror across the room. ' _I look okay, right?'_ he thought, eyeing his chosen outfit carefully. In the end he'd gone for a simple look: flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, black ripped jeans and pair of white converse.

A triumphant yell from Finn brought Aerrow back to reality as he turned and saw his complete lunatic of a friend fully dressed, wearing a pastel blue shirt with jeans and converse.

"It's time to PARTAY!" Finn yelled obnoxiously as he practically fell out of the house, followed at a slower pace by Aerrow, who had come to accept that he was never to see the outside world again.

' _Finally.'_

As the two friends rounded the corner, Aerrow saw Finn's mouth drop open in awe. The building in front of them was like something out of a fairytale, albeit a creepy, evil fairytale. It was a large Gothic mansion complete with French windows, turrets,...and even ominous overcloud. _Purple_ ominous overcloud. Weird.

"Dude, her folks must be totally loaded," Finn whispered excitedly, making a beeline for the front door. Aerrow followed after him with anticipation, the erratic blonde's hyperactive nature rubbing off on him. He got to the door just as Finn lifted the bronze, Victorian-esque knocker and slammed it down with far more force than was necessary. "Oops," Finn grinned at him sheepishly, "Bit heavy."

Before Aerrow could reply with a witty remark, the front door flew open revealing Cyclonis, a petite, slender girl with a death-stare powerful enough to make even the most macho man run the other way. She glared at them now, with something Aerrow could only describe as a mixture of disgust and irritation. Unfortunately, Finn clearly saw something different.

' _Oh God,'_ Aerrow cringed inwardly as he saw him assume the Flirting Position. He was forced to bear witness as Finn clumsily leant against the door-frame in what he thought to be an enticing pose. "So," the younger boy said, gesturing to himself "you like what you see?"

Cyclonis very much _did not_ like what she saw. Aerrow swore that he saw a flash of lightning as the small yet slightly scary girl's eyes darkened. This would probably be a good time to move.

"Come on," Aerrow muttered, grabbing Finn by the wrist and pulling him through the door, muttering an apology towards the Daughter of Darkness. He continued to push through the crowd until he heard a low voice from behind him.

"Hey, dude I think we lost her," Finn said, as if what just happened couldn't have been avoided if he'd kept his _big mouth_ shut. Aerrow stopped walking suddenly, causing Finn to crash into him "Ow."

The exasperated redhead turned to him, placing a hand on either shoulder in a pleading manner "Listen, this was your idea, and that's great. But please, I don't think I could handle it if I died because of you and your Great Ideas, so never _ever_ make me see that again."

Finn grinned at him, wiggling his eyebrows "What's the matter? You jealous of my out-of-this-world womanising skills, huh?"

That gained him an eyebrow raise, although he wasn't wrong about his 'womanising skills.' They really were something else.

"Also, what's with the crazy grip," Finn complained, rubbing his wrist "you been working out or something?"

Aerrow crossed his arms, looking him dead in the eye with a grin "You're squirrelly and annoying, I had to develop a god-like physique to control the complete mess that you are."

This caused Finn to stare at him for a couple of seconds, Aerrow could practically see the cogs whirring in his head deciding whether or not to be insulted, before he shrugged, turning away and waving his hand dismissively "Whatever man, see you later."

He spun around one last time, complete with trigger-fingers and an eyebrow wiggle "It's time for the Finnster to work his magic."

That was something Aerrow was sure he _really_ didn't need to see.

After leaving the Finnster to 'work his magic' Aerrow had been at a loss with what to do with himself. After all, he was never really big on parties. For now, he was content with wandering through the various gaggles and crowds of people, taking in the buzz of the atmosphere. After a while though, he'd started to notice a different _sort_ of buzz. He'd started to feel that something was off when the vibrant rotating hues of colour washing through the room became more and more like a kaleidoscopic assault, as his vision blurred in and out of focus. A sudden realisation dawned on him as he sniffed his drink gingerly.

' _Crap,'_ he thought ' _is there alcohol in this?'_ At least Finn wasn't around to film his swiftly approaching loss of all dignity.

He began to make his way to the drinks table, in the hopes that if he just stood around and _acted_ like he knew what he was doing, everything would be cool. Totally cool.

As Aerrow stood leaning against the wall, attempting to not think about how completely _uncool_ this was, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder accompanied by a timid "Excuse me."

He turned blearily to see a slim, dark-skinned girl looking up at him apologetically as she tried to get past. Realising that he was still stood in the way, he shuffled slightly, "Whoopsies," he mumbled almost incoherently, mentally kicking himself for letting it slip out. Nice one.

' _Avoid eye contact, maybe she didn't notice that you sound like you're wasted,'_ Aerrow thought frantically, chancing a glance in her direction. Nope. She noticed. She raised an eyebrow at him as she poured herself a drink, a light-hearted smile playing on her lips. "You okay there? You need to be really careful with this stuff, I can only ever have one or two."

One or Two? Wonderful. He'd definitely had more than that. Aerrow was soon startled out of his hazy panic by a chirpy voice. It was that girl again.

"Someone's definitely had one too many," she teased, giving him a sidelong glance.

' _Just play it cool. You've got this she doesn't_ know _you,'_ he thought quickly. He had to reply or she'd think he was some kind of weirdo. He shot her a goofy smile, reaching to lean on the table in what he hoped was a laid-back manner.

"Nah, it's totally fine. I drink like this all the ti-"

His both cocky and _fictional_ claim was cut short by a distinct lack of table underneath the palm of his hand.

He knew this would happen, he knew Finn would be the death of him. Even if this wasn't _directly_ his fault, he definitely had something to do with it. Indirectly.

Aerrow blinked a few times, slightly disorientated and confused by the fact that he was currently horizontal. Dazed, he looked up to see a somewhat familiar face hovering inches above his own, her carnelian eyes flitting between concern and amusement.

"Hey," the girl said softly, "Having fun down there?"

"Totally," he mumbled, as she offered a hand to him, which he gratefully accepted. Still feeling slightly tipsy, Aerrow let her lead him to a nearby chair, where she sat him down, handing him a cup of water, before throwing herself down onto the chair next to his.

The two sat in silence, Aerrow realising with each sip of water exactly how much of a Total Prat he had made of himself. To drag his attention away from the gnawing sense of shame twisting in his stomach, he turned to the girl.

"Don't you feel like dancing or something? It's a party right?," he joked, trying to ease any tension between them, although he was pretty sure any awkwardness dissipated as soon as his face made impact with the floor. Talk about breaking the ice.

The girl shrugged, brushing a stray strand of midnight blue hair away from her face "I'm not really a big party person, I agreed to come because of Cyclonis, y'know?" Aerrow nodded slightly, encouraging her to continue. "Well, I know everyone thinks she's this scary mean girl who's friends with everyone, but tonight, don't you think it's strange that we've seen everyone else having a good time except her?"

At her question, Aerrow took a look around the room, realising with surprise that he hadn't seen Cyclonis once, not with any of the various groups clustered around the house.

"I guess you're right," he murmured absent-mindedly, eyes still scanning the room. He'd never thought someone like Cyclonis could be lonely.

"So what about you?" the girl questioned, leaning on the arm of the chair, eyes glinting mischievously "You're a _total_ party animal, right?"

This made the older boy roll his eyes, "Ha, ha," he dead-panned, taking a gulp of water to hide his ever-present embarrassment. He was never going to top this first impression. He fiddled with the cup for a few moments, giving a sidelong glance to the girl, who was watching him with laughter in her eyes. "To be totally honest with you, I'm not much of a party person either," he admitted, although he could see by her expression of mock surprise that he hadn't needed to tell her that.

"I actually came here with a-"

Aerrow found his conversation was cut short as he watched a familiar, wiry blonde fight his way through a crowd of people. As he practically fell in front of Aerrow, the redhead noticed that his head of perfectly spiked hair was all but dishevelled and one of his cheeks was a great deal redder than the other.

"Do I actually _want_ to know what happened?" Aerrow asked bluntly, dreading the answer. He was answered with a wide grin as Finn pointed to his abused cheek "I got slapped in the face," he supplied breathlessly, staring at his friend's sympathetic expression before clarifying "No, no it's okay, it means she _totally_ digs me."

Aerrow rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head fondly. What was he going to do with his complete dork of a friend?

With that lingering thought, Aerrow decided it was probably best that they left, before Finn got himself killed by an angry mob of insulted women. He placed the now empty cup on a nearby table, turning to the still present girl who had been watching the whole exchange with barely stifled laughter. "We better go," he said, gesturing with his thumb "but...thanks...uh.." Aerrow faltered, recalling that he hadn't asked the girl's name. Smooth.

"Piper. It's Piper," she said, with a small smile "And don't worry about it...?" She paused, looking at him expectantly.  
"Oh, uh, Aerrow," he stuttered, cursing himself silently for being so awkward. She gave a quiet laugh at his response but didn't tease him, she simply stood up and walked past, waving slightly at the pair. "See you round sometime."

Awesome.

Aerrow was rudely zapped out of his goofy trance by the feeling of Finn's eyes boring into the side of his skull questioningly. He raised his eyebrows, taking in the scruffy appearance of the younger boy before patting him on the shoulder and heading for the front door "Come on then, you lady-killer you."

"You know it."

After their escape, the two friends walked in companionable silence down the darkened street, illuminated softly only by the gentle amber glow of the lamp-posts.

That is, until Finn opened his mouth.

"So who was that?" Finn questioned, his voice laced with an obnoxious cheer known only to him. Aerrow took a sudden interest in the floor, scuffing his feet on the loose, crumbling asphalt. "I don't know," he mumbled reluctantly. He knew that when Finn wanted gossip he _would not stop._

"She was just a girl, she helped me up."

"Oooooooohhh," Finn drawled childishly, nudging Aerrow's side before slowing down. "Hey, wait," he called suddenly, jogging to catch up with the taller boy who had quickened his pace at Finn's incessant interrogations.

"Why did you need helping up?" Finn challenged suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at Aerrow, who looked everywhere but the nosy blonde.

"I fell over." At Aerrow's confession, Finn stopped dead, catching the redhead by the shoulder, causing him to stop too. "You...fell over?" Finn whispered, his voice cracking "You fell over IN FRONT of everyone?!"

Uh oh.

Aerrow blocked out Finn's heated rant, only tuning into certain memorable phrases such as him being a "Gift from God," and a "Man lusted after by many."

Letting his mind wander back to the earlier events of the night, Aerrow debated whether what he had experienced had been either the best or worst moments of his life so far. He found himself smiling involuntarily as he remembered the playful laughter in those sparkling eyes, and the way her lips were always quirked, ready to smile. I mean, he would never forget the embarrassment and complete loss of self-respect he'd experienced, but if he had to describe it in two words:

Not bad.


	2. Chapter 2: C You Again

Aerrow was greeted the next morning with the harmonious, grating sound of his alarm blaring in his ear. Wonderful. Perhaps the unrelenting scream of his alarm clock would encourage the budding musician playing the _bongos_ on his _skull_ to find a new home.

The comatose redhead sluggishly rolled out of bed as he saw the time, seriously debating whether or not it was too late to take up his childhood dream of becoming a vampire, as he warily dodged past the morning light filtering softly through the gap in his curtains.

' _Yeah,'_ he thought, glumly inspecting his newly visible dark circles and wild hair - well, wilder than usual. _'Definitely too late.'_

Casting a final scowl at his reflection, Aerrow tugged on his uniform before reluctantly making his way downstairs. About halfway down he wrinkled his nose at the sickeningly sweet smell that greeted him.

Pancakes.

Usually, Aerrow was a big pancake fan, but today he found that his stomach turned uncharacteristically at the familiar fragrance. Turning into the kitchen, he made a mental note to never drink again, at least not unsupervised.

"Morning," his mother acknowledged lightly, turning to reveal a spatula and plated pancake in either hand. "Did you have a good time last night?"

On the arrival of her question, Aerrow had been scrutinising the pancake that had just been placed in front of him, considering whether it was a good idea to actually _eat_ it or not. Sensing a watchful eye, Aerrow looked up to see his mother leaning against the counter, patiently awaiting a reply.

Even he had to admit, his response wasn't worth waiting for, consisting of an incoherent mumble and a half-hearted hand gesture. Knowing that this response wasn't enough, Aerrow busied himself with poking at his food, trying to avoid any more Motherly Interrogation.

"So did you have fun?" his mother pressed, her dark green eyes brimming with questions. "Meet anyone new?"

Before he had the chance to come up with a slightly less degrading account of his night, Aerrow silently thanked the powers that be at a sudden, loud hammering on the door. As if summoned, Finn burst through, popping his head into the kitchen.

"Yo, Mrs S," he greeted the woman cheerfully, glancing hopefully around the cluttered kitchen."I don't suppose you've got any of those famous pancakes left over, huh?"

Ever the scrounger.

Aerrow rolled his eyes at the blonde's total lack of shame, grabbing his bag and practically running past Finn. "Sorry pal, we're all out. Better luck next time."

He smirked as he watched Finn's face fall, turning to give his mother a quick wave before heading for the door.

"Come on man, there must be something left don't hold out on me."

"Let's _go_ , Finn."

"Fine."

Aerrow inspected the clock at the front of the class through half-lidded eyes, watching the minutes tick by at an _agonisingly_ slow pace. Why did registration always seem to last for an eternity at a time?

Of course, it was made even longer by the non-stop babbling of a Certain Someone. For what seemed like the umpteenth time, the older boy glanced to his right and wondered exactly _how much_ trouble he would get into for knocking the guy out. Just a little.

As the bell signalled the first lesson of the day, Aerrow departed from Finn and made his way to the English classroom. Wandering over to his seat, he ignored the excited chatter of his classmates.

"Alright you lot, I trust you had a good weekend but now it's time for the good stuff. Essays!" a posh, fruity voice rang out, signalling the arrival of their teacher, Mr. Rex.

There was a collective groan at the older man's feigned enthusiasm for the prospect of work. But unlike the others, Aerrow was quite looking forward to getting his essay back, he was almost certain he'd improved recently.

However, the lesson was interrupted almost immediately at the arrival of the headteacher, a short, wide man with greying hairs sprouting from just about every orifice. Behind him, Aerrow was startled to see a familiar face waiting politely.

Since when did she go here? Not that he was complaining.

"Everyone," the headteacher announced, his voice cracked with age "this is Piper, and she'll be taking up English for the remainder of this year due to a slight change of interests. I trust that you'll all be decent to her."

The ancient figure of authority waited for a resounding "Yes, sir," before slowly vacating the room. On his exit, the room once again became more animated, with Mr. Rex handing out the pupils latest essays, after pointing Piper to an empty chair.

Or more specifically, the chair directly in front of Aerrow.

Before he could even open his mouth to greet the girl, a sheet of paper was slammed forcefully down onto his desk. That was never a good sign. Slowly looking up into the eyes of Disappointment, Aerrow ventured timidly.

"Not good?"  
"Most _certainly_ _not_ good."

Great. Aerrow looked down at his essay with dread, letting out an audible groan at the large C grade scrawled across his work in neon red, along with several other scathing comments. He let his head smack against the desk in despair. He had been so sure this time, he really had thought he'd gotten the hang of this whole essay thing by now.

"You have quite the relationship with furniture," came the muffled quip, causing Aerrow to raise his head slightly, grinning widely at his teaser.

"Don't be fooled, it's totally one-sided," he replied, sitting up and leaning his elbows against the desk, casting another glance down at his displeasing essay with a sigh. He heard a light creak as the girl shifted in her seat, gesturing to the paper. "So what was it on?"

"The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald," Aerrow read, examining his copy of the novel, mindlessly thumbing through the pages. "Oh, that's a good one," Piper mused thoughtfully."I'm starting to wish I'd joined this class earlier. Business just didn't feel right to me."

Aerrow nodded in response. She seemed to have to right mindset for this subject, he _had_ seen her as a fairly imaginative and open-minded person after only two brief meetings, after all.

"So what did you get?" she questioned curiously, leaning on the back of the chair, clicking her pen. The boy leant his chin against his palm, flicking the paper disdainfully. "I got a C. _Again._ I can't seem to do any better than that, not sure why."

Seeming to pick up on his deflated mood, Piper threw him a small smile, her eyes flickering between him and her pen. "Well, I need to catch up for this class anyway, so we could always work together?" she asked tentatively, before adding hurriedly, "only if you want to that is. No pressure."

Aerrow felt his mouth tug into a warm smile at her offer. "Yeah, that sounds nice," he replied shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He thought it would be a refreshing change to work with someone who actually...well. _Worked._

The rest of the day leading up to lunch passed by in an uneventful blur. He fought to conceal a yawn as he saw Finn approaching, noticing with relief that the day had taken a noticeable spring out of his step. Maybe this would be a quiet lunchtime.

"Hey, serious question. Would you watch a film of yours truly?"

Never mind.

"What do you mean would I?" Aerrow questioned warily. "Are you going to _make_ me?"

Finn shot him a glare, offended that someone would be anything other than happy at the thought of watching Finn in HD.

"No, sadly you are robbed of seeing _this_ ," he gestured to himself emphatically, "in all its feature-length glory, because Someone decided it was against the rules to make films about _yourself_. It's _media,_ the people _expect_ films about people. What if I want to make an autobiography? What if I become famous? What happens then man? What. Happens. Then..."

Aerrow left Finn to his grieving as they waited in line for food, before taking a seat at their usual table. They never had a real problem finding a space because no one else bothered to sit with them - and, casting another look at Finn, Aerrow couldn't say he blamed them.

Absent-mindedly scanning the room, Aerrow realised that Finn had finally stopped talking, the reason being the large sandwich stuffed elegantly in his mouth. Muffling a fond laugh at his friend's expression of true bliss, he noticed flash of blue and purple in the corner of his eye, turning fully to see Piper and Cyclonis coming to the end of the queue.

Aerrow hadn't realised he was staring until Piper waved in his direction, smiling. Soon after, he saw her turn to Cyclonis, talking quietly to her. Was she trying to get her to come over? If she was, he couldn't tell if it was working.

Upon watching this interaction between the girls, Aerrow spared a quick glance at Finn, who hadn't noticed any change. Ah, the love between a boy and his sandwich. During his short interval of Finn Surveillance, the two girls seemed to have come to a decision, as Aerrow watched them walk over, Piper visibly more comfortable than Cyclonis. Noticing her discomfort, he made sure to nod in her direction, a friendly smile on his face. He wanted to make sure she didn't completely hate him after the 'Finnster's' flirting.

Whether she hated _Finn_. Well. That was different.

Aerrow noticed with a growing sense of anxiety that Finn had stopped eating, and was now sat mid-chew, his sandwich suspended in mid-air losing various bits of filling due to gravity. For once, the older boy found himself willing the blonde to speak instead of shutting up.

He felt a light tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Piper, wearing an expression similar to his own. "Is he okay?" she whispered, fighting off a smile. Aerrow glanced between Finn and Cyclonis, a sense of despair coming over him as he replied. "I've been asking myself that for 17 years."

"Hey!" Finn cried, glaring at the redhead, betrayal written all over his face.

Now out of his trance-like state, Finn gulped, turning to Cyclonis with what he hoped was a pleasant expression. "So..uh...How you doing?" he tried, casting her a weak smile.

At the cold reply of complete silence, Aerrow turned his attention back to Piper, leaving the younger boy to his riveting one-way conversation. Raising his eyebrows in the form of an apology, Aerrow began to eat, the table falling under a (mostly) comfortable silence.

"So when would be good time to study for you?" Piper asked simply, picking stray bits of lettuce out of her sandwich with a grimace, before looking at Aerrow expectantly.

Slightly thrown off guard by the directness of the question, Aerrow's eyes widened as he considered a do-able meeting. "Well...how about tomorrow?" he offered, before realising that they still needed a venue. "We could always meet up at my place," he continued "I mean, my mum would be totally cool with it..." He trailed off as he realised he was rambling, meeting Piper's gaze to be greeted once again with warm amusement.

"Sure," she replied easily "That sounds great."

On her reply, Piper looked down at her watch and made to get up. Aerrow tried to crush the disappointment he felt at her following words.

"We better go," she said apologetically, tapping Cyclonis who in contrast seemed eager to leave the struggling blonde boy. "I'll see you tomorrow though, yeah?"

Aerrow nodded happily, a goofy smile plastered across his features as Piper turned to Finn.

"It was nice to meet you again..uh..Finn, right?" she asked cautiously, raising her eyebrows at the boy's spontaneous display of trigger fingers and a wide grin. "The one and only."

' _Well, that's one way to paint a memorable picture,'_ Aerrow thought, still in a content daze as he watched the two girls walk away.

Aerrow slumped further down onto Finn's bed, attempting to make a list of improvements he need to make to his essays to _boost_ his damn grade. Despite his want to get better at the subject, Aerrow couldn't help but feel that Mr. Rex had some form of personal vendetta against him.

He sighed loudly as his eyes scanned the reams of corrections scribbled across his work. Yep. I felt more than a little victimised.

"So, you and Piper."

Snapped out of his wallowing by the smug-sounding blonde, Aerrow turned to see Finn holding his Biology book above his head, squinting with confusion. "Excuse me?"

Finn pulled himself upright, pinning the redhead with a knowing look. "You and Piper. Studying."

Aerrow, slightly lost as to what Finn was getting, turned his attention back to his notes. "Yeah, we're studying. _Just_ studying. So?"

Shaking his head, Finn turned reluctantly back to his homework, muttering under his breath. "Clueless."

He'd heard that. Aerrow narrowed his eyes at the younger boy, waiting for an explanation that never came. _'Whatever,'_ he thought, _'What a wind-up.'_

After a few minutes of silence, Finn piped up again. Someone was clearly losing the fight of Biology.

"Do you think she would help me with _my_ studying?" he grumbled despairingly, "I mean why do plants even _need_ those?"

Aerrow hoped that was a rhetorical question. He jumped as a flurry of paper instantaneously flew across the room. It was a _miracle_ he hadn't had a heart attack yet.

"I just realised," Finn said, hurriedly getting to his feet and pointing at Aerrow. " _You_ don't have anything to wear."

Was he serious? Aerrow sat upright at Finn's judgement. "Hey, I have _clothes_. And we're just _studying_ will you give it a rest," he objected, placing his notes down next to him in defeat. "Besides, she knows what I look like."

He was silenced by a withering look from Finn, who had clumsily opened his wardrobe, displaying his wide array of almost identical shirts and t-shirts in varying shades of blue. Fashion.

"Come on, let the Finnster dress you up."

"I think I'll pass."


	3. Chapter 3: Study Buddy

' _So much homework.'_

There was a loud sigh as Aerrow rested his head against his desk in defeat, before boredly rolling a pen back and forth across the surface. _'Okay,'_ he decided _'Time for a break.'_

Becoming absorbed in this ground-breaking entertainment in the form of a pen, Aerrow sat there transfixed for what seemed like a number of hours before his attention was drawn to the bedroom door by a gentle knock.

"Come in."

At his invitation, the familiar face of his mother appeared as she stepped in, her juniper eyes sweeping the room, noting the scattered Teenager mess with just a _hint_ of motherly despair.

"So," she began tentatively "Mr Rex just ca-"

The older woman's hesitant statement was cut off by an audible groan from the young redhead, who had once again found refuge in the tabletop, smacking his head against it in annoyance.

Perfect.

Raising his head slightly and squinting through strands of copper hair, Aerrow watched his mother roll her eyes fondly at his dramatics, a sympathetic smile growing on her face as she took a seat on the end of his bed. "Come on, I thought you liked English."

Aerrow let out a soft sigh as he leant back in his chair, slumping down in the seat despondently. "I _do_ like English," he muttered, before adding quietly "English just doesn't like me."

He flicked a rubber moodily, before a light hand on his shoulder caused him to look up, seeing his mother reaching for his only moderately crumpled English notes. "Let's see," she trailed off as she scanned the page, her brow furrowing in confusion as her gaze landed on the selection of scathing comments left by no one other than the _charming_ Mr Rex. "Does he say things like this to everyone?" she questioned, her eyes searching his wonderingly.

Yeah. As if.

"Nope," Aerrow replied, his voice oozing sarcasm."That's just for me, I'm _special_."

Too caught up in gloomy school-related thoughts, Aerrow failed to notice the mischievous glint in his mother's eye as she reached forwards, grabbing his face and squishing his cheeks between her hands. "Yes you are," she affirmed with child-like glee. " _Very_ special."

After several minutes, Aerrow was free from his mother's _painful_ display of affection, and was now wearing what he hoped was an Adult expression of Disapproval, rubbing his cheeks for effect. However, watching his mother fight off a smile was making it hard for him to maintain his composure, his glum exterior rapidly failing him.

"Okay but seriously," the now composed woman said. "Maybe you should get someone else to check your work for you, because this,"- she paused, gesturing to the now even more dog-eared notes - "doesn't seem right."

Aerrow watched fondly as she began retrieving any stray items of clothing strewn across the floor, folding them neatly.

"Well, actually," he ventured, addressing the back of her head. "I was wondering if I could have a friend over to study tomorrow?"

Friend. Could he really call her a _friend_ yet?

"A friend, hm?" his mother turned, flicking a strand of chestnut hair away from her face as she fixed him with a curious look. "Have I met this friend?"

A heavy silence fell over the room as the question hung in the air. Aerrow swallowed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled to piece the right words together for her. "Well, uh, she's this new girl in my English class. She started this week."

Upon saying this, Aerrow risked a look at his mother, who was both trying and failing terribly at feigning nonchalance, as she turned her back on him again, continuing her valiant efforts to make his room presentable.

"So, a girl," she clarified, a teasing note in her voice. "Is she pretty?"

Yes.

"No, well..yeah..I mean..." Aerrow floundered, desperately trying to find a somewhat coherent response. "I mean she's pretty nice I guess."

He _really_ needed to work on that.

Despite his less than perfect 'talk' with his mother the previous day, Aerrow couldn't help but feel cautiously optimistic about his plans for the day as he sat in the school yard at lunchtime, soaking up the rare beams of sunlight filtering through the clouds. Today would be a good day.

"So you're gonna be going straight home today right?"

Aerrow turned to his right, where Finn was lying flat-out on the grassy bank they had found for themselves, his eyes shut as he enjoyed the warmth of the sun. "Yeah," he replied cautiously, turning his attention back to the _many_ games of tennis taking place on the courts just below them, smiling distractedly as he watched a small weedy kid score a point only to be crushed in celebration by an incoming pile of friends. "I'm gonna walk with Piper to make sure she gets the right house."

At that, Finn abruptly opened one eye, looking Aerrow up and down in silence before leaning up on his elbows, a concentrated look on his face. "Are you sure you don't wanna take a quick detour to my place to, y'know," he paused, making vague waving motions with his hands before continuing. "Jazz you up a little?"

The redhead took a moment to process that someone had just offered to 'jazz him up,' blinking at the blonde in question helplessly before sighing and mirroring his spread-eagle position. "I think I'll be fine without your help, thanks Gok Wan."

The two drifted into a companionable silence, the pleasant heat making them drowsy as they listened to the laughter and chatter of their fellow classmates. Aerrow was just dozing off when he heard the unmistakable blare of the bell, signalling an end to lunch. Reluctantly, he sat up and began to brush off the small tufts of grass that seemed to have congregated onto his shirt, noticing Finn doing the same.

"Time for Biology," Finn sighed, stretching loudly before getting to his feet. At his friend's laid-back words, Aerrow felt the need to check something. "Did you finish your homework then?" the older boy asked flatly, trying to bury the growing feeling of amusement and worry as he watched his friend's face contort into an expression of dread. That was a no.

"Crap," Finn groaned, smacking his palm to his forehead. "She's gonna kill me."

Aerrow was merely an onlooker as he watched Finn search frantically for someone, _anyone,_ who had done the homework set. With an involuntary sense of dismay, Aerrow saw Finn's gaze land on Steve, the thin, weedy boy in his class who always did the homework. Poor guy, this wouldn't end well.

"Yo, Steve! Wait up man!"

Oh no.

At the blonde's yelled command, Aerrow saw Steve jump, turning in Finn's general direction only to be greeted with the sight of a wiry, sugar-loaded boy racing towards him as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did. The older boy buried his face in his hands, ready to deny any affiliation with the doofus heckling Steve as he witnessed him throwing his arm over his shoulder and laughing slightly too uproariously. Always a smooth talker.

Risking a peek through his fingers, Aerrow was taken aback to see Steve actually _handing_ Finn the work willingly, although not without flinching at any and every form of human contact. _'How the hell does he do it?'_ he thought, almost in awe at his friend's skills of persuasion.

"See you later dude!" Finn yelled cheerfully, shooting him a relieved thumbs before hurriedly making his way to his lesson.

' _He's out of his mind.'_

Leaning against the school gate, Aerrow blew upwards in an attempt to unstick the hair from his forehead. The unusual heat of the day had caused him to begin panicking slightly, mainly due to the fact that he didn't want to go home and study feeling all hot and bothered. Especially not...with someone. ' _At least everyone'll be in the same boat,'_ he thought, in an attempt to reassure himself.

Everyone except for Finn. Who seemed fine.

As if on cue, Finn bounded over to Aerrow, giving him a totally subtle yet completely unsubtle wink, before disappearing through the gates to make his own way home. Not soon after it seemed others were following suit, either leaving in gaggles of friends or simply alone. Aerrow made sure to return any polite nods or waves he received from classmates and acquaintances, one of which was Cyclonis, who offered nothing but a minuscule nod before rushing off. It was something at least.

Moments later, the grounds seemed eerily quite, with only Aerrow left, and the gently dimming light of the early evening was doing little to calm his mind. To distract himself he checked his phone, wondering if perhaps he had missed her. Or maybe she'd changed her mind. He glanced at the time. _3:45._ At least 20 minutes late.

On the verge of leaving or calling someone, Aerrow was interrupted by the sound of frantic footsteps steadily getting closer. The boy looked up to see Piper dashing towards him, midnight blue hair flying about wildly as she attempted to shove paperwork in her bag whilst running.

"Sorry," she gasped, coming to a stop just in front of him. "Chemistry teachers just _love_ to pile on the homework. Yay." Rolling her eyes at her last comment, Piper turned to her bag, where she continued the fight with her worksheets. "Almost...Oh, oops."

Whilst most of the papers submitted to a higher power and obediently went into the bag, one stray paper escaped, a light breeze carrying it to the gate, the old, rusting metal grates blocking its path. "I got it," Aerrow smiled, attempting to be helpful as he made his way over to the rebellious worksheet, picking it up carefully so as not to rip it. "Titrations, huh?" Aerrow read curiously, as he smoothed the paper out, his eyes scanning down the masses of lines and symbols covering the page. "I never got to do those properly."

"Really? Why not?" Piper asked, brushing away the locks of hair hanging in her face, before accepting the worksheet and slipping it into her bag. "Thanks."

"Well," Aerrow started, as they began the journey home. "They sort of kicked me out after Finn decided to shove two test tubes up his nose. For science, he said."

This prompted a laugh from Piper, who replied with a fond amusement. "I guess the teachers didn't agree."

Finding her laughter infectious, Aerrow started chuckling too, enjoying the ease of their conversation. "I guess you're right."

They walked on in silence for a few moments before Piper spoke again. "I've been wondering for a while now but, how did you and Finn become friends?" she asked, and Aerrow noted that their was no sort of pushiness or judgement in her voice, only a genuine curiosity. "I mean, he seems like quite the handful."

She got that right.

"You don't even know the half of it," he replied, rolling his eyes fondly at the thought of his goofy friend and his antics. "To be honest," he continued, "I don't think I remember a time when we weren't friends, our parents have always lived on the same street, so it was kind of impossible to avoid eachother."

As she nodded understandingly, Aerrow turned to her, a sudden thought having crossed his mind. "What about you? I've never seen you around until now, did you move here recently?"

At her small silence, Aerrow cringed, thinking for a horrible moment that he might have spoken out of turn. Said something he shouldn't have. But he was quickly calmed by her reply. "I've moved around quite a bit because of my dad," she shrugged and turned to Aerrow, who silently encouraged her to continue with a nod. "He wants to travel. See the world. I don't really mind it because he sees these amazing places. I just don't like having to start over all the time, y'know."

She seemed to deflate for a moment, before glancing up at Aerrow and smiling. "Still, maybe I'll get to stay here properly. Let's hope!"

Yeah, let's hope.

The remainder of their journey was filled with comfortable chatter, making it seem like no time at all. When the pair turned into Aerrow's street and up his drive, he paused momentarily, turning to the girl with an apologetic look. "I just wanted to say sorry," he muttered, with the beginnings of a sheepish smile. "W-what? Why?" Piper stuttered, her forehead creasing in confusion as her apricot eyes searched his face.

Here we go.

Upon opening the door, Aerrow nearly fell over at the sight of his mother, who was mere inches away from his face. _'What the hell?'_ he thought, cringing inwardly - more-so for Piper than himself.

"Hey sweetie, how was your day?" his mother asked brightly, a wide grin on her face as her eyes darted between the two teenagers stood in the doorway. Sweetie. Of all the days she could've brought that back. Aerrow shut his eyes, a pained expression on his face. She was just as bad as Finn. "Yeah Mum, it was okay," he reluctantly replied through gritted teeth, making motions with his eyes telling her to please _leave_. Instead, she turned to her next victim. Piper.

"Hello there dear, you must be Piper," she greeted cheerfully, which Piper returned with a friendly wave and a smile. "Thank you so much for agreeing to teach my little ragamuffin of a son here." To make this entire scenario worse, she chose this moment to ruffle his hair lovingly.

"Aagh, Mu-UM!" Aerrow attempted to fight her off, going a light shade of pink as he attempted to tame the mess that was his hair. If the ground could just swallow him up now, that would be great.

"Okay then," she said lightly, "I'll leave you kids to it." Unbelievable.

As she moved to finally let them pass, Aerrow glared daggers at her, gesturing at her disbelievingly. Clearly, his embarrassment wasn't conveyed clearly enough as he got only a thumbs up in return, before his mother made herself scarce. Well, it was a bit late for that.

Leading her into the living room, Aerrow gave her a sidelong glance, checking to see whether she had been permanently scarred by the events that had just occurred. Thankfully, her eyes seemed to carry that same old amused glimmer as she caught his eye, grinning.

"Okay, I just need to get my stuff, why don't you just..uh.." he paused, motioning to the general sofa area. "I'll be right back."

He ran upstairs, entertaining the idea of barricading his mother in her room as he passed her door. She'd probably find a way to torment him even then. Not worth it. Disregarding his imaginary scenarios, Aerrow got to his room, rifling through mounds of paper until he found the worn, crumpled English notes he needed. On his way out, he caught a look at is reflection, quickly stopping to straighten his collar before running down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Aerrow returned to the living room to find that Piper had already gotten her equipment sorted as she sat on the sofa, a writing pad and pen in her lap, along with a clean copy of the reading material. Efficient. "So where do you want to start?"

"Good question," Aerrow sighed, as he flipped through the various notes he'd made for what seemed like the umpteenth time. He snorted as a came across what good old Mr Rex had labelled as a 'helpful sidenote.' "Somehow, I'm not seeing how 'Maybe you should spend more time reading' is helpful."

Glancing over his shoulder to see the notes as Aerrow sat down heavily next to her, Piper's eyes widened as she saw the 'helpful sidenote.' "Wow, he really doesn't like you, huh?"

"You think?" he joked, turning to give her a half-hearted smile which she gladly returned. "I know, why don't we just see if we can get a better understanding of the book?" Piper asked, turning to Aerrow optimistically. "Like what were your favourite parts?"

There was a small silence as Aerrow thought her question over, reaching for his copy of _'The Great Gatsby'_ and thumbing through it in concentration. "I guess it's probably in one of the early chapters, where the author describes Gatsby's house and his lifestyle, building it up as one big dream-world where there are no worries or stresses. But it's done in a way that makes it seem lonely, because it's all so materialistic."

After he'd finished his sentence, Aerrow turned to Piper questioningly, wanting to check that he wasn't totally off the mark with the story and analysis. He felt a pleasant, warm feeling run through him as he was greeted with a soft smile and a nod. "Yep, I'd say you're right," she mused, scribbling down some notes. "All you have to really do is figure out how to write your feelings and views on the book into words on the page. You're a natural."

Aerrow found himself once again with his signature goofy grin plastered across his face at her praise, and he stayed in this state for most of the evening. He found it refreshing to talk about the subject he enjoyed so much with someone who seemed to share the same views, and if their views were opposing, was able to hold a convincing argument.

For Aerrow the hours passed far too quickly, and all too soon it was time for Piper to leave. As she packed up her things, he tried hard to bury the feeling of disappointment in the pit of his stomach, a feeling that was becoming increasingly more frequent in the presence of Piper.

They walked together towards the front door, shoulders occasionally brushing due to the restricted width of the hallway. At the front door, they stopped, Aerrow rubbing the back of his neck as he attempted to formulate some kind of thanks to the girl. "This was..fun. I really enjoyed it," he tried, smiling shyly, "Thanks."

He saw her eyes widen slightly in surprise as she tilted her head bashfully, smiling up at him. "No problem, I'm glad I could bring some enjoyment to your learning," she replied lightly, before looking down to fiddle with the strap of her bag. "Y'know, it was really fun to study with someone who actually seems interested in what they're learning," she added, glancing up at him, the movement causing a few strands of hair to fall in her eyes. "So I guess I should thank you too."

They fell into silence again, both unsure of what to say, with Aerrow resisting a sudden urge to reach out and move the bangs drifting into Piper's face. Clearing his throat, Aerrow went to open the door. "Hey, um..do you think...he faltered, his question falling flat as he held the door halfway open. "Do you think we could do this again?"

He could've sworn he saw what looked to be a hopeful expression flicker across Piper's features, but shook it off, as she adjusted her bag strap and made for the door. "I'd like that," she answered, gently brushing past him and going out the door. "We can always sort it out lunchtime...tomorrow?"

Aerrow caught himself from going into goof-ball mode long enough to form a coherent answer.

"See you then," he confirmed, going to close the door, stopping short when he saw her turn around halfway down the drive.

"It's a date," she said simply, the soft smile that seemed to be a permanent part of her features appearing once more. As she disappeared around the corner, Aerrow shut the door, aware that he was probably gaping in a way not unlike a fish.

' _It's a date.'_


End file.
